Chicago Wedding Photographer

My cousin was busy planning her 2014 wedding when she asked me to not only design her wedding invitations, but to take her wedding photos. I graciously accepted the honor of designing her invitations….that came easy to me as a graphic designer, but I wasn’t sure about taking pictures for a wedding. I insisted that she hire someone with experience. Although photography classes were my favorite during my time at UIC, I knew that the pictures taken  on your wedding day are the most important photos you’ll ever have. After doing some research on wedding photography she came back and asked me again. She believed in my creativity and talent. I accepted and asked my brother (Isai) to join me. It was a nerve wrecking day, and I’m sure there were times my hands were shaking. I am the type of person that doesn’t know how I feel about something until the project is complete, but that night I felt like I did something great. I received a text message from my cousin when the editing was done. She shared with me how emotional she got, and how happy she was to relive the excitement of her wedding day.  My greatest joy from creating, whether it is in design, cake decorating, or photography, is knowing it brings joy. That’s when I knew I needed to give photography a try as more then just a hobby.

So that's my story. I am now a wedding photographer! It's so much fun to say that! I have at least 5 weddings I will be second shooting this year, and I am talking to a few others for a wedding I'll shoot on my own. This is totally nerve wrecking, but this year has been a true test. It's been hard. I am putting up my fists though and fighting for a better future. Fighting for my dream career. I can't wait to shoot! Check out my work here! 

*The first photo above was taken at the Abbey Resort and Avani Spa in Lake Geneva. That destination wedding was so much fun! The second one was taken in champaign Illinois! I love the vintage wedding theme! 

Wedding Photos at Kitchen Chicago

I am still waiting for my photos from the wedding, but I do have a few photos shot just outside and inside (by the staircase) of Kitchen Chicago! They came out great! Kitchen Chicago is a fantastic venue, and the outside made it very rustic/urban meets chic.

Plus take a peek at my new blog and wedding photography website: www.melissaisaiphotography.com

Engagement Photos & Location ideas

We booked AEphotography to shoot our wedding photography. With our package came an engagement session. I was so incredibly nervous. I am not a model! Eric (the E in AEphotography) shot our session. He told Joe to tell me things in my ear and make me laugh..and boy did Joe make me laugh. That was the key to a successful shoot.  The smiles below are real. They laughing is real. The love? Also real. haha We had such a fantastic time! I mean it had to be a great day, we did it on my birthday (April 20th)!

There were so many photos! Here are just a couple of my favorites....

Location 1: Wicker Park - We found a hidden gem behind an abandoned paper company. This was in the ally. We loved the rugged Chicago look and thought it fit in well with our urban wedding theme. The photos below were taken within a few blocks from each other! 

Location 2: Lightology! This was a last minute decision. Ok, they all were. They morning of the engagement shoot we drove all around the city looking for the best spots. I somehow bumped into this one online the day before, though. With the photographer, we decided to go here! We made it just in time. They were about to close, but let us go the their roof for a few minutes. How beautiful and diverse is this roof! It had a great view and it is so wonderful that Lightoloy lets you go up to take photos! They also have really fantastic light fixtures and lamps btw.

Location 3: Montrose Beach! This is a beach that Joe and I have great memories with! It was either this spot or the John Hancock. We were worried about traffic and that it would be overcrowded since it was Friday night. I am so glad we went here! Can I just mention that it was FREEZING! The wind was crazy and the sand was whipping at my legs. We got some amazing shots though. 

lake+wind+waves=this misty raining look. 

Our hazy city in the background. How perfect. 

Ahh, twilight. The best hour to be out taking pictures! 

I'd say that this was a successful day. A special thanks to Cristi for doing my make-up! :)

Review = The Smitten Bride

Throughout the planning process, I kept my eye out for any great wedding deals. It's how I got my wedit cameras for less then half the price, my photo booth for $420ish. Subscribing to Groupon and The Wedding Channel deals, for example can be a huge help!

It was through wedding channel that I found The Smitten Bride. I contacted them to ask them a few questions. My biggest concern was the day of the wedding. I went through so many different vendors.  I was worried there would be nobody to guide them, and to make sure they did their task and the room change. I didn't want to ask family to do a room change. It would be too much stress on my mom and I to think about what was going where and if it would be done correctly.

I had talked to at least one other wedding coordinator in person at a bridal expo. I told her about my concerns and her response was that the caterers should take care of that. It wasn't her job. Then she suggested (because I had a two hour gap) to hire a trolly to take people around the city. I didn't like her personality or her attitude. She also didn't answer my questions the way I wanted. It felt like she only worked with high end brides.

I could not believe the difference when I talked to the smitten bride. They work with all kinds of brides (including ones on a budget) and immediately said they would help me with whatever I needed the day of! Even moving the rentals themselves to help me with the room change. I was so excited. After meeting up with them, I found that they were the sweetest ladies I've met in the wedding industry. They were so kind. I ended up working mainly with Katie who was just fabulous. I was always a nervous wreck when I  met with them, but left feeling so much better knowing that they would be there to assist.

What did they actually do?

• They, without even knowing it, calmed my mom and I down. When we booked them, my mom said she literally slept better that night. 
• They met with me three times total before the big day. The second was to talk about details. She, after looking at my confused face I'm sure, even said if I needed to we could talk some more later at another meeting 
• Katie responded to my e-mails quickly and gave me helpful suggestions when I needed another opinion. 
• I never felt judged even when I gave them my blank stares because I was stressed! Hey that's helpful right!?
• They wrote up the timeline for the day. I know that sounds easy, but I had a cocktail reception. I've never been to a wedding like that so I didn't know the order of things and when it should take place. They wrote that out. I was so relieved when I got that!
• They confirmed everything with all the vendors before the wedding! So incredibly helpful!
• They held on to all the contracts. That was also great. You never know what you might need the day of!

The day of...

• They set everything up for the ceremony.
• Helped line everybody up when it was time! 
• They did the room change! This was worth every penny in itself! Kitchen Chicago has a balcony and they brought stuff up and down the stairs! (I believe my servers that I hired also helped)
• They made sure everything went smoothly with me and the vendors. 
• Katie was there constantly checking on me. When my husband and I were going around greeting each guests, a lot of them handed me their gift. Katie would come out of nowhere to grab it and put it in safe keeping. 
• She got us drinks and food! That was great!
• They were there until the end
• They cleaned everything up and broke everything down. 
• She organized all my wedding stuff like the decorations and gifts so that it was easier for my mom and dad to take with them. 

They were fantastic. If I had to rate them I would give them a hundred stars! They were great. I literally don't know what I would have done without them there that day. I had so many different vendors. My photographer, DJ, caterer, table rentals, photo booth, servers, and bartenders where all from different companies! So you can imagine how happy I was that they were there to run everything. I would strongly recommend them to any Chicago bride! I only had them for the day of coordination and they were great!

What I've said yes to!

My goal was to get the major parts of the wedding booked before school starts. I know that once school starts, wedding planning will be harder to do. So here is what I've said yes to.

1. Kitchen Chicago! I'm still very happy with my choice. If you google "Kitchen Chicago Weddings" it now comes up in a google image search. That made me so excited to see two/three other weddings there. It made me go crazy with ideas on how to decorate the space. 

(screenshot of a google image search)

1. I said yes to the dress! After going to a total of three bridal shops, I had to go back to the first one and try it on again. It felt very Melissa. That dress described me perfectly. I must say that I went to another bridal shop which I will do a review on, and it came close. It was so close that, like I said, I had to go back to the first place to try it on to compare while everything was fresh in my mind. A week later I purchased my dress. I'm so silly. I have no idea why it takes me so long to make up my mind. I rang the good luck bell that every bride rings when they've found their dress at David's Bridal. It was a good feeling. I said yes to the dress! 

1. Photography is very important to me. After a lot of drama with the photographers of my dreams, we worked everything out and I signed the contract. Yes, you heard me drama. We had a bump in the road. I have to suggest that when e-mails start getting lengthy it is best to insist that you call them. I had asked to, but she kept e-mailing and it came to a point where she misunderstand me and things got a little bit crazy. I still don't know went wrong exactly. Anyway, we "hugged it out" as my brother would put it. I called the husband (in the husband and wife team) and went over the package. I e-mailed her. She seemed very friendly towards the end, and we booked them. It will be a huge relief when I get the hard copy of the contract. They are amazing though. I love their work. I am excited to work with them. I get an engagement session as well, which I am stoked about. 

1. DJ! We just met up with a DJ on Friday. I am about to e-mail him to see when we can sign the contract. I love the price and the fact that he is going to give us a discount if we pay in full! He looked like a DJ (haha) and has been doing it for 18 years. With the company he has, it's been 5 years. He is all about customer service and making sure the wedding runs smoothly. If the kitchen is dragging and the timeline seems off, he is more then willing to talk to the kitchen. There is no extra charge for us if we need ceremony help with sound (since the reception and ceremony are at the same place). I'm so excited. There is always a back-up DJ on call and equipment. They have insurance and the price just seems right. The DJ I met with the be the DJ on the day of the wedding and he is hispanic! It is important to me that he is bilingual with his mom and some of our guests that are spanish speaking only. I need somebody who can play spanish music without me holding their hand on which songs to play. I'm going to e-mail him right now I'm so excited! The price is way under $1000 which is hard to find in the wedding world. If the reception is 4 hours or 6, there is no extra charge! If you are interested the website is www.windycitymix.com.

This was too cute to pass up.

I'm so excited that I've gotten so much done. Despite the fact that I hate the fact that I start school next week, I feel ready-ish. 

Shopping for the dress! A David's Bridal review.

Everybody knows that one of the most important parts of the whole wedding process is shopping for the dress. Not just any dress, but the dress that will wow your groom. The dress that displays who you are. The dress you save to have your kids look at. The wedding dress.

It's so important to me to find the perfect dress that I fall in love with. A dress that will make me feel beautiful and will compliment me well. My favorite part of a wedding has always been that moment when the bride walks into the church for the first time. Everybody stands up and looks at how beautiful she is. To me it also runs deeper then that. My favorite part when I am dressed up, even when I'm not feeling so beautiful, is when I come out of my room or house when Joe is waiting for me. It's that look that he gives me. The way he whispers to me how beautiful I look. I know he'll be happy in whatever I am in, but I want this to be extra special. It's not just my wedding...It's our wedding and I want to take his breath away. Ok, I am done rambling now.  haha

Picture from Yelp

It was a Saturday morning and I headed off to my appointment at David's Bridal. I chose to go to the one in Lombard, IL. I arrived with my mom, my cousin (also my Matron of Honor), and my sister-in-law to be (also my bridesmaid). After a few minutes of waiting, my consultant came out. I had already chosen my favorite dresses online so she was able to quickly pull my favorites. The first dress I put on I really liked. The more I wore it, the more I liked it. I went on to try a few others. I have to say though, if you go to David's Bridal ask for Amy to be your consultant. She was great. She listened to what I had to say and was very helpful. She made me feel comfortable and was very friendly. After trying on a few dresses I put that first one back on. I loved it even more. I think it was a slow-ish process for me to realize how much I liked it, but I think it's the one. I won't go into details in case my fiance decides to read this...but the more I had it on, the better I felt in it. I will say this. It was from the White by Vera Wang collection. Her dresses are fabulous and are a great price from being a couture gown. I had such a great time, I didn't want to take the dress off. I tried on nets and veils. I put on accessories. I think when I put on the right net or viel (I'm not giving it away!) we all kind of knew. It was then that I became an actual bride-to-be... in my head at least. haha. In case anybody is wondering, I didn't cry. haha My mom said she came close to it, but held back. :)


Vera Wang stated,


"I adore the challenge of creating truly modern clothes, where a woman's personality and sense of self are revealed. I want people to see the dress, but focus on the woman." 


This is exactly what I want. That is what I think I have found. I adore her gowns. The next day I woke up unconsciously thinking about that dress.   :)

I didn't expect anything from David's Bridal. I will say this though (as a warning), I went the next day as a bridesmaid (for my brother's fiance to try on dresses) and this time,  we had a completely different experience. Again, Ask for Amy. She was amazing! It will make a difference.

Kitchen Chicago it is!

The venue has been booked!
Joe and I are super excited.

This also means that we have our wedding date. Drumroll please! haha

July 21, 2012

Corny picture, I know. :)

It is a huge relief to have signed the contract and to have picked a day. It's one thing I can finally cross off the really long to-do list. 

It looks like the ceremony and reception will all be there. I e-mailed my old church about the possibility of having our wedding there, but they are trying to sell it and are no longer booking weddings. I was devastated. It's ok though, Kitchen Chicago is fantastic. 

The next thing on our list as far as the venue goes, is trying to figure out if we want a sit-down dinner. It means 130 people will be invited. Unfortunately, that does not include some friends and co-workers. We now have to decide if we want a cocktail reception for up to 200 people or a sit down dinner. It's very tricky. I have been considering, if there is room in the budget, to do a dinner with the parents and bridal party only. That gets a little bit tricky, but imagine if we were able to do this at the Signature Room!? It would be fantastic!  We will have to see. I am getting a lot of negative thoughts on it. I don't know...

I made my first appointment for wedding dress shopping. I am going on Saturday morning to David's bridal. I feel like it's important for me to start there. There were about 7 dresses that I liked. I am super excited and very nervous. We'll have to wait and see what happens! 

What I can't give up (for a wedding on a budget) and tips for planning

Planning a wedding on a budget is proving to be a huge challenge. The average wedding costs around $25,000! That's a lot of money to spend on one day! That is more money that I have to spend. So here begins my journey of a wedding on a $15,000 budget. I know, that sounded like a lot to me too in the beginning, but that number proves to be a challenge in this city.


There are a few things I cannot give up!

1. It must be in the city of Chicago. I'm not quite sure why that means so much to me, but it does. Maybe it's because of the fact that Joe and I spend so much of our time outside the 'burbs. I go to school and Joe works in some of the greatest parts of the city! Not to mention that we spend a lot of our free time there. Chicago is amazing, and I want to say I do! Right here in the windy city.
2. I do not want to have it in a banquet hall or a hotel.  Nothing irritates more then a windowless, gloomy,  carpet covered, chair covered, room. It is not in my definition of beauty. Am I being too hard? I guess I can thank my artist eye for that. haha
3. I just want to have fun! It is supposed to be the most important day of our lives right? That doesn't mean everything has to be a traditional cookie cutter wedding. Joe and I want to have fun with the people that surround us. We want to laugh and start our lives officially together with a bang! 

I have talked about Kitchen Chicago before. Online, I had bumped into a fellow blogger who just got married for $10,000. She got married in Kitchen Chicago, and I am now determined, to not give up one of my requests. It is so hard to not fall into the whole banquet hall thing. I could easily get the hook-up from two people! It just isn't what Joe and I envision. So seeing another blogger go through exactly what I am going through really helps! What helps even more is seeing it decorated! I went to the place to visit with my parents. I'll post photos soon... It really helps transform the place! To see photos now, go to her blog. She has just updated photos from when she got married!

Kitchen Chicago is a beautiful space, and I think it is the one. 

The next step is finding out where I can rent everything. I have a notebook full of prices from different companies to compare and see which is cheaper. The dilemma Joe and I have is if we want a sit down dinner for 130 people or a cocktail reception for 150 people. At this point the cocktail may be just a bit cheaper and we could have more people come! Our list doesn't even include co-workers or any important extras that our parents would like to invite. At the same time, my parents like the idea of the sit down more. They are old school and that is the more formal route. Joe and I are 50/50 right now. 

As soon as we decide the smaller details and what companies to go with, we will be going to Kitchen Chicago (most likely) to book and save our date (late July of 2012)!  We want to do this by the end of the month. I am so excited.

Tips...

I do have to say, planning a wedding on a budget has caused many headaches. It has been stressful. I'm still stressed now. It will take a lot of work, but I am determined now. I think we can do this! The times I am not so sure though, Joe has been really supportive. That has really helped. The best thing in planning though, is doing your research. It takes a lot of time, but it helps to see what all our options are. I have probably looked at every venue in Chicago (other then banquet halls and hotels). I emailed them and then ruled them out when they had a ridiculous minimum or cost per person. Joe and I made a spreadsheet on excel or we just wrote down all the  prices to all the venues we liked and broke it down to how much each thing cost (like venue, food, alcohol, tables, chairs, and so on). This helped us visually see what everything would cost even if it was just an estimate. Some places where cheap, but then you had to go through their bartenders and purchase their alcohol packages which rose the price a lot. This brings me to some more tips on what to think about.

Some things to look at when you are just beginning your search are...

1. Rental cost / minimum (this applies towards restaurants)
2. Don't forget to add about 31% to your venue if it is an all inclusive one. Sure it may not cost that much, but when you add an extra 31% for tax and gratuity it all adds up. 
3. If it just the space you are renting do you have to go through their caterers? This is why Joe and I turned so many down. Their required list was way more then we could afford! The place wasn't so bad but the cost of the food is the same a place that already includes everything. It got to be a little bit crazy. 
1. A suggestion for this is to get catering from a cheaper place. Joe and I are seriously considering Gino's East! It is more affordable and it is food we really love. My point? Have an open mind for food and think outside the box.
4. Think about if your guests have parking. Joe and I visited some places and a con was the cost for parking or the fact that there wasn't any parking at all in that neighborhood. That was a turn off. I can't afford shuttle busses like they suggested! 
5. Again, DO YOUR RESEARCH! 
6. Don't forget to check to see if they offer discounts of Fridays and Sundays!

Some of these may be really obvious to some, but they were tips I wish somebody told me when I started to e-mail vendors and find out pricing information. 

That's all for now. I do have two/three more venues to post and write about for brides on a budget! That will be coming soon!  

A New Leaf - Wedding Venue #2

When I was searching for lofty type spaces in Chicago, I stumbled upon A New Leaf. The pictures I saw caught my attention, and I knew I had to see what it looked like in person. I'll talk about the pros and cons after the pictures. Again, you can get a better a feel about the place from the pictures. If you want to view their website, you can click here to get more information.

40 of these chairs and 8 tables are available for use. 

These are the stairs that lead to the dance floor.

Stairs again. I thought they looked cool. 

This is where Joe and I would put the dance the floor. It was large enough for sure! 

If you look at the previous picture you can see that there are two steps that go into a random hallway. 

There are a couple of windows, and I thought it made a good photo op. 

Hallway

This is the first floor in the front of the space. I thought it was another perfect photo op!

Dance floor again!

This is the first floor. 

There are stairs that lead to a second floor. (Not the dance floor, that is separate).

Stairs.

This is a video I took of the space. I think I showed the place best with this video. 

Ok so this place was nice. We knew from the moment we walked in, it was too small for a sit down dinner for 130 people. After that we kind of strolled around the place and took pictures. 

Pros:

1. It was nice and those tables/chairs were pretty.
2. Good photo op with the store front. 
3. The place is located in Lincoln Park. Since we want a Chicago city wedding, the location is perfect! 
4. Multiple floors can be beneficial. 
5. You get all floors as well as the courtyard garden. Good for smokers I guess? It wasn't breathtaking or anything, but perhaps it looks better in the summer? 

Cons:

1. The place was too small! After seeing Kitchen Chicago I realized it is possible to have a sit down dinner so A New Leaf turned me off. Even for a cocktail reception, the people would be scattered on any of the three floors!
2. The dance floor I talked about was completely cut off from the rest of the place! What if some people don't want to dance? I won't get to see them or pull them onto the dance floor! This was a big turn off. 
3. The place only has 40 chairs!!! Those chairs are so beautiful, but even for a cocktail reception I think I would like more then 40 chairs. 
4. You have to pick from their list of caterers. It is an extended list which I appreciated, but I don't like their list very much. 
5. No parking lot. This wouldn't be that big of a deal but Joe and I had a hard time finding parking for one car! Image a whole wedding party trying to find parking in the Winter! Yikes! That was a turn off. We are trying to save money so Valet is not something we want to consider and want to avoid if possible. The only parking garages are a few blocks away.

The price is neither a pro or con. It is a con when comparing it to Kitchen Chicago, but it isn't horrible. It is $3500 for a Sunday and $4000 for a Saturday night which is better for your budget then other lofts I've seen online. It really adds up for the bride on a budget when adding food from their list though. That is why we decided that we will not be having our wedding at A New Leaf.

Check out a fantastic photographer for your wedding day here!